Anyone else ready for spring?? ;)

Either due to the incredibly bad winter or despite it, I am more than ready to get things up and rolling here. If the snow would just melt, things would look a lot better ;)

I have already ordered 20 more layers (various breeds) and 20 meat birds. I didn't go with the CCs so we'll see how it all works. They will be delivered the last of Mar, first of April. DH is going to revise the coop and make me a few new runs so we can alternate and the girls will (hopefully) always have grass to eat if we can't actually range them each day.

I've ordered all my gardening supplies to include raspberries, grapes, a few more strawberries for my existing bed. Seeds, ornamentals, seed-starting supplies, sweet potatoes. I've measured out my garden spot and started planning for that. It is kind of a sweet torture, LOL!

We will definitely be getting a few more pigs this year and I'm toying with the idea of either moving their hog panel fence around or semi-pasturing them in an area where the bind weed has taken over. It is the same place I tried my first garden here and it was useless, a lot of work for nothing. A vet guy I spoke with said that the pigs may not get rid of it entirely but would definitely beat it back some. Like I said, I have to study this a bit but it is an idea floating around. DH also wants a beef critter so we may have a lot going on once the weather warms.

Still toying with the idea of getting some fruit trees and some other fowl but for now that is where I'm at. Anyone else have Spring Fever? Lori

So far I've been enjoying the first real winter I can remember. Believe it or not I'm hoping for one more good snow! The others we had here were heavy and wet, so just one good deep powder will leave me satisfied. But yes, I predict an intense bought of spring fever soon. Our plans aren't nearly as involved as yours: maybe a few baby ducks that we hatch ourselves, plus new strawberry plants and a couple of Surefire cherry trees. Uh oh, it's starting...

Acer, I will send any more snow slated for our area on to you. I've just had it with the cold and snow/ice. My MIL has some ducks so I may try again with a few of those as well. I took in a few of her hatchlings last year but they didn't last long, flew out of their enclosure never to be seen again. Well, aside from some feathers I found in the pasture :( So building them a better place to live would be a priority as well. Lori

I am SO ready for spring! The past week has been really hard, leading up to yesterday evening which was chaos. You can read about it on my blog.

I've got my seeds ready, just holding back on starting as long as I can. We tend to be really wet in the spring and so our plant-out date is later than other nearby areas. But as Farmer Karl tells me, "we might be two weeks later, but we always have bigger yields!"

Johanna, sorry about your hen, hopefully she will heal up just fine. Several of my girls have taken a beating because I have my older roo, Rocky, and kept his son that I hatched out. I knew I would be getting more layers and since Rocky has made such a wonderful roo, I wanted to keep his son. He's a nice bird as well, but like you said, young and "eager." Rocky is an Iowa Blue so is handsome but not too big. He has a very good temperament.

I am only going to start my tomato seeds inside this year and always sow them on my birthday, Mar 30. My little present to myself, LOL. I usually do a variety of things but decided to just buy pepper plants locally and winter sow my flowers and other veggies. I take 2 liter bottles and basically make tiny greenhouses out of them, complete with soil. Toss the seeds in there and put them outside, either in a box or somewhere where they won't tip. It can freeze, snow, blow and those seeds will pop up just beautifully when it is time. It has saved me a lot of time and space inside and the plants are vigorous because they are already hardened off. Lori

Yep, even here it is getting warmer. The snow is melting rapidly, but I expect we will get a few more heavy snows before "break up". The lakes are still well frozen, but I have onions and celery started in the garage under lights. I try to start almost all my own stuff to avoid pest problems brought in from commercial greenhouses and nurseries. I can buy enough seeds to last several years for the price of a few plants as well, although it does require time, space and electricity to keep them going. We also have several greenhouses, but don't heat them as it is too expensive in the depths of winter here.

I am definitely ready for warmer weather. I am feeling better the last few weeks just with the longer days and milder temps, though, so a few more snows won't bother me much.